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A fantasy playground in Buenos Aires

BUENOS AIRES — BUENOS AIRES: If the bustle in the narrow hallway of his temporary headquarters only hinted at Alan Faena's presence, the white suit jacket draped over the back of a Philippe Starck office chair confirmed it.

Argentines like to smirk about Faena's sartorial obsession with the color white, his ever-present cowboy hat and his lofty talk of creating "living experiences." But beneath the affectation is a savvy investor who has played a major part in transforming the former docklands of Buenos Aires into Argentina's most sought-after real estate.

"Alan's got a lot of depth to him," said Chris Burch, a venture capitalist who first met Faena in 2001. "It's not the way he dresses or looks. He's got a vision," Burch said, adding, "and if you have that much passion and creativity, you win."

When Faena first showed Burch the run-down granaries and mills of Puerto Madero, the New Yorker was excited but wary. Eventually he climbed on board, and now — five years, $100 million and the Argentine financial crisis behind them — they are completing one of the city's most talked- about developments.

The 100 private residences in the hotel building are sold, and all but a handful of the 204 apartments in two other buildings have gone for $2,500 to $3,500 a square meter, or $230 to $325 a square foot, Faena said.

Next year, a former grain warehouse will be turned into 100 apartments and the home of Faena's Experimental Art Laboratory, a company created to provide entertainment and culture for his "universe."

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A mixed-use complex of residential, office and cultural space, scheduled to be completed in 2010, will round out his vision of an art district. Built by Foster & Partners, the firm headed by the renowned British architect Norman Foster, the apartments will be sold for $4,500 a square meter or more, among the highest prices in Buenos Aires.

"I did this because Buenos Aires should have everything to make it an international city," said Faena, 43, reclining on a white leather couch in his office. "What we have done is to make Buenos Aires be more close to the international crowd, the global nomads."

Ignited by the hotel, a Belle Epoque fantasy whose restaurant is decorated with unicorns, development in Puerto Madero is moving rapidly. Foreigners attracted to the location and reassured by the security are among the primary tenants.

"We thought it would be difficult for him to get investors," said Florencia Robert, a broker at Reynolds Propiedades, a Buenos Aires real estate company. But Faena's investors — including Burch's brother, Robert; the newspaper heir Austin Hearst; and the oil billionaire Len Blavatnik — credit his charismatic personality with keeping everyoneinterested in the projects, even in 2002, when Argentina's massive debt and inflation led to economic collapse.

By the time the development is completed, the total investment will reach $300 million. Yet Faena has no doubt his vision will be a total success.

"Everybody wants to spend more time in Buenos Aires," Faena said. "There's nice sun, good food, beautiful women, handsome men, nice night life, great meat. What more? I think it's just the beginning."